


Glimpses Of Realities - Jimmy Kirk

by graceandfire



Series: Glimpses of Realities [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 08:11:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/859891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graceandfire/pseuds/graceandfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a sequel to Four Ways Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy Could Have Met...And the One Way They Do. Specifically, it's a sequel to the section where a young Jimmy Kirk moves into Leonard's neighborhood. However, since the original ficlet was about 1,000 words and the sequel is about 3,000 words I'm reposting the original ficlet as an intro to the sequel.</p>
<p>Also, heh, I had originally intended to keep this one gen. Gen, I tell you!</p>
<p>Teenage Jimmy Kirk disagreed. Vehemently. Yeah, guess who won...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glimpses Of Realities - Jimmy Kirk

“Someone’s moved into the Lennox place,” Leonard’s mom mentions at supper.

“They have any kids?” Leonard looks up from his meal, distracted from his two week, on-going, internal pep talk to convince himself it’s not the end of the world if he asks Jocelyn Evans out and she says no.

“Seems there’re two boys. Their father—step-father, actually, as I heard it from Edna—moved them over from Iowa. The mother’s in Starfleet and on some deep space mission. But, anyhow, the boys are eight and twelve, and as I heard it from Divia over at the grade school they're quite smart young men based on their school records. Although what their mother is thinking taking herself out to space when she’s got two young boys who need her...” Leonard watches as she shakes her head in real dismay while his dad makes agreeing noises.

The thought of Leonard’s mom doing something like leaving him and his dad alone to go off into space is completely alien and Leonard feels a moment of sympathy for the two kids before he dismisses them from his thoughts. Because blond haired, sweet smelling, sixteen year old Jocelyn Evans is a damn sight more interesting to think about than two little kids.

The next day he’s in the front yard, raking leaves the old fashioned way because his father figures it’ll build character. Leonard scowls at his dog, Beau, as the mutt runs through the pile that he just raked. “I will sell you,” he threatens. Beau barks in response and runs through the leaves again.

“Nice dog.”

Leonard looks up, startled, and meets the tentative, friendly blue eyes of a skinny young kid, who then turns to stare at Beau with a wistful look.

“Yeah, he’s a pretty good dog.” He scowls down at the mutt who’s cheerfully zipping back through the pile of leaves again on the way to saying hello to his new friend. There are leaves scattered back all over the place, not to mention the ones stuck in Beau’s fur. “Even if he’s about to get a whack with this rake.”

“No! Don’t punish him. He’s really sorry. I can tell.” The eyes have gone a little wary now and the hands petting Beau close protectively around him. Beau pants, tail still thumping, and gives the kid's face a friendly swipe of the tongue, entirely unconcerned.

Leonard blinks, frowning. “I wasn’t serious kid. I’m not gonna punish a dog for doing what comes natural.”

The kid studies him for another wary second and then relaxes. “Okay.”

The small, thin frame is almost eclipsed by the boisterous form of Beau and Leonard grins a little at the sight, before turning back with a sigh to finish raking the leaves. He’s surprised when, a minute later, the kid gets up and starts shoveling leaves into the bags Leonard has lying on the ground for later.

“Hey kid, you don’t need to do that.”

“I don’t mind.” It’s almost shyly offered.

“Well,” Leonard runs a hand through shaggy dark hair, bemused, and then shrugs, “if you want to.” He figures the kid’ll get bored in a bit and wander off.

The kid’s still there an hour later when they bag up the last of the leaves and debris. Leonard looks across at the sweaty, flushed face. “So my name’s Leonard. Len.”

“Jimmy.” This time the words are offered with beaming blue eyes and a wide flash of white teeth.

“So, Jimmy, you want some lemonade? My mom makes it homemade.” Least he can do when the kid’s worked up a sweat helping him out.

The smile flashes wider and the eyes fill with delight. “Yeah!”

They hang out over two glasses of lemonade apiece and some filched oatmeal cookies and Len is surprised he’s not bored. Jimmy’s young but, shit, he's smart. And funny. Kid can hold his own in a conversation and his grin is bright enough to light up the high school stadium. When Len looks at the clock and remarks with surprise that his mom’ll be home from her club meeting to start supper soon, he watches the light fade from Jimmy’s eyes.

“Oh, I, yeah, I should probably get home too.” The kid doesn’t move though, staring down into his empty glass.

“You, uh, you wanna stay for dinner?” The invitation just sorta slips out.

The light returns to the kid’s eyes in full force as he grins. “Really? Can my brother Sam come to supper too?”

Leonard shrugs. “Yeah, sure.”

He watches Jimmy scamper off to hunt down his brother and is reminded for an instant of Beau.

Jimmy and his older brother Sam show up for dinner that night and Len looks on in amusement as his mom immediately takes a shine to the two ‘practically motherless’ boys. She’s about adopted them as kin by the time they roll out of the McCoy home with overstuffed bellies and an extra plate full of brownies.

“Y’all come back over anytime you want,” she says cheerfully.

“Y’know, if you guys wanna come back tomorrow I can show you around town,” Len offers. He’d planned to try to ‘accidentally’ run into Jocelyn at the pool tomorrow. But, hell, he can do that another time.

The brothers show up the next morning and Leonard shows them all the best spots to hang out. Sam disappears into a baseball game when Leonard introduces him to Billy Rawlings and his gang who are all about Sam’s age. But Jimmy sticks with Leonard and somehow he doesn’t mind.

After that, the Kirk boys just kind of keep showing up for dinner.

****************************************************

 

“Oh, baby. You’re becoming a doctor. I’m so proud of you.”

It’s an innate mom power to be able to invoke the desire to blush, roll your eyes and stand ten feet tall with pride all at the same time Leonard thinks, mouth curling into a smile of affection as he’s enfolded in the arms of his tiny sprat of a mother.

“I’m not a doctor yet, mom,” he responds wryly. “They won’t even let me at the patients for another year.” One and a half years of grueling med school behind him and two and a half more to look forward to. Except he really is looking forward to it all; to even longer hours and real life cases and the fierce competition for the best intern positions, because he can’t imagine not becoming a doctor. He’ll never admit this because it’s hokey as hell, but it’s not a career he’s pursuing. It’s a calling.

“Well, you will be soon enough. And at the top of your class. Oh, honey.” The beaming pride continues unabated and Leonard refrains from rolling his eyes only because his mother will swat him.

“I’m surprised Jimmy didn’t show up with you and dad at the train station.” It’s a change of subject but true. Jimmy vids him almost every day and he’s usually the first face Leonard sees when he can get away from school to visit home. His roommates over the years have teased him about his younger brother’s devotion. Leonard’s stopped correcting them about the relationship because, hell, Jimmy is his younger brother, in every way that counts.

A thread of steel enters his mother’s magnolia voice. “Well, he certainly wanted to meet you at the train station but he has a final today and I told him under no circumstances was he going to miss it.”

Ah. And his mother is one of the few people Jimmy Kirk pays any mind to. Actually, the few people Jimmy Kirk pays any mind to pretty much all have the last name McCoy.

“Well, I…”

The front door opens. “Len!”

A whirlwind of beaming blue eyes and high voltage energy attacks and Leonard staggers under the impact of the full throttle hug.

"Oof,” is all Leonard can manage for a minute, even as his arms wrap around Jimmy to return the greeting.

“Hey, kid,” he finally manages with a grin.

Jimmy flashes him an annoyed look, the grin muting as he steps back. “I’m not a kid, Len. I’m seventeen.”

Leonard opens his mouth to give the kid grief for the protest except…Jimmy doesn’t look like a kid, he realizes with a jolt. Sometime in the four months since Len’s last visit, Jimmy’s sprung up in height, added muscle and his face has gotten a little leaner. He’s still young but…he doesn’t look like a kid.

Not sure why it’s so disconcerting to see a glimpse of a grown man in Jimmy’s so familiar features, Leonard offers a wry half smile. “Sorry, Jimmy.”

A grin instantly replaces reproach. “S’okay. Wanna go hang out back?” And suddenly he looks twelve again.

“Hold on, Jimmy, how’d you do on your test?” His mother’s face is stern. Her eyes aren’t. Eleanor McCoy has never been immune to Jimmy's charm, always a little sweeter when it's turned her way.

Like now as Jimmy's brash smile takes on a hint of almost sheepish pride. “Aced it, Mrs. McCoy.”

This gets the expected reward of blue ribbon peanut butter cookies and frosty glasses of lemonade. Twenty minutes later, they’re in the back yard lazily tossing a football back and forth.

Leonard’s scowling. “I can’t believe you were dumb enough to get into it with the entire Newburg High football team. Jesus, Jimmy, what the hell were you thinking?”

Leonard feels his scowl deepen as Jimmy just smiles with a stubborn glint in his eyes that Leonard’s grown to know too damn well over the years.

“It wasn’t the entire football team,” Jimmy defends himself. “And they were messing around with some kids.”

Ah. He should have known. Jimmy does not tolerate those who bully the weak. It had been a hell of a problem when the kid was younger and refusing to even acknowledge that he was maybe one of the ‘weak’. And it’s still a problem in an entirely different way now that Jimmy’s put on height and mass and picked up too damn much about fighting from god knows where.

Still, picking on little kids… “Well, you don’t look dead,” he finally grunts.

Jimmy smirks. “I held my own.”

Uh huh.

“So, uhm, you think you’ll be doing your internship in Augusta?” Jimmy asks casually as he tosses the ball to Leonard, the pigskin arcing up in a lazy spiral.

Leonard shrugs and moves easily to catch the ball, cradling it in his hands. “Don’t know yet. Depends on if they even accept me.” He sends the ball back Jimmy’s way, aiming it high and wide just to see Jimmy move.

Motion is instant, a graceful dance and easy leap up, the reason Jimmy’s the best receiver on the Fullton High football team. Jimmy lands softly, ball in hand, and scoffs. “They’d be crazy to turn you down. You’re at the top of your class. You’re gonna be an awesome doctor.”

Leonard can’t help grin at that. At the easy faith in Jimmy’s voice that’s always been there since the day they’d met over a pile of leaves and a barking dog.

“Yeah, well, you can write my recommendation,” he chuckles. “But anyway, it’ll depend on where Jocelyn wants to settle too.”

“Oh,” Jimmy’s voice goes flat. “You guys still serious?”

“Yeah,” Len frowns at the change of expression on the younger man’s face. “I thought you liked Jocelyn.”

“She’s…fine. She’s nice,” Jimmy appends, shooting the ball back with perfect precision and a little too much force. “She’s very nice.”

Leonard rolls his eyes as he catches. “Well, hell, Jimmy, don’t go overboard on the praise.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. It doesn’t matter what I think.” Moodiness is creeping into Jimmy’s tone and, fuck, Leonard thinks with an internal sigh. He doesn’t remember having been this volatile when he was a teenager. Of course his mom would probably disagree.

“Well, it matters to me what you think.” Leonard hesitates and then takes a deep breath. “Because, well, I…I’m thinking of asking her to marry me.” It comes out in a rush because there. He said it. He said it to someone out loud and the world didn’t implode.

He watches Jimmy freeze, the ball Leonard had just tossed sailing past him to land with a thudding skid on the grass.

“Jimmy?” He frowns in concern because the kid’s face has gone pale.

“Jimmy, are you okay?” He approaches and puts a hand on the younger man’s arm. The touch is like finding the ‘on’ button and Jimmy scowls and snaps out of his shock, glaring at Leonard.

“You can’t.”

“What?”

“You can’t.” His blue eyes are fierce as he grips Leonard’s forearm.

Leonard scowls, trying to hold onto his temper. “What the hell do you mean, I can’t? I love Jocelyn. I want to make a family with her. I thought you’d be happy for me. Do you think I won’t have time for you if I marry Joc? Hell, kid, you’ll always be…”

"What?” There’s challenge in Jimmy’s voice as Leonard hesitates.

“Family. You’ll always be family, Jimmy.”

“I don’t want…” Now it’s Jimmy’s turn to stumble over words with uncharacteristic hesitation.

“Don’t want what?” Leonard asks, anger starting to fade into concern. Jimmy’s not selfish, far from it. There has to be something more going on than the kid feeling insecure.

“I don’t want…I mean I do want…I mean…”

“What do you want, Jimmy?” Leonard asks, feeling his voice gentling with concern at the unhappiness storming through the younger man’s changeable eyes.

Frustration glitters in those eyes and there’s a brief warning of recklessness that flashes across his face before strong hands reach up and card through Leonard’s hair and pull down and Leonard’s too surprised to react, to resist, to do anything but be led down to meet the hot, angry demand of Jimmy’s lips, the ridiculously skillful plunge of tongue—fuck, where the hell did Jimmy learn to do that—that sends a bolt of heat straight through to Leonard’s groin and it’s the urge to do more, to let his hands go exploring, to pull Jimmy in closer, to kiss back—he’s kissing him back—that has him wrenching away, hand coming up to his mouth as they both stand there, chests heaving.

Whatever’s in his eyes he has no clue, but it has Jimmy’s widening. “I…I’m sorry. Len, I’m sorry, I just…please don’t marry her. Please. Please.”

“I have to go. Into the house. I have to…go.” Leonard stumbles away, ignoring the pleading, scared look in Jimmy’s suddenly young face—fuck, Jimmy’s so young, Dad’ll kill him, Mom’ll hate him, he has to go, he has to go.

He runs. He makes an excuse about an emergency at the clinic where he volunteers. How he has to cut short his vacation and he’s so sorry mom but he has to go, and the disappointed look on his mom’s face would ordinarily be enough to make him feel the guilt of a thousand goddamn suns, but the scorching feel of Jimmy’s lips on his is enough to override lesser feelings of guilt and he runs.

He spends the next few days getting drunk and getting mad and pretending it’s Jimmy he’s mad at and, hell, sometimes it actually is Jimmy he’s mad at. But most often he’s mad at himself for the fact that he didn’t just laugh it off, that he didn’t just let the kid down easy. It’s a stupid crush. He handled it in the worst way. He didn’t handle it. He fucking ran from a seventeen-year-old kid who’s as good as his brother. Brother. Shit, Jimmy’s practically his little brother.

He ignores the twenty-three frantic vid-calls from Jimmy, deleting them without listening. He ignores the four calls from Jocelyn too, guilt burning in his stomach every time he hears her voice and sees her face in the increasingly irritated transmissions because he loves her. Except the only thing he can seem to think about is that kiss that’s still burning on his lips. And Jimmy’s face. And the way Jimmy’d looked at him. The desperate hope and determination and, under it, the scared look of a kid. Afraid of losing…someone important.

At the end of the third day he’s somehow not at all surprised to hear a pounding on his front door. He’s also not at all surprised to open it and see Jimmy on the other side, eyes narrowed, face a picture of pure, cussed determination.

Leonard opens his mouth, not sure what he’s planning to say, but before he can, Jimmy’s pushing past him into the small apartment, rounding to glare at him, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a prize fighter stepping into the ring.

“Just…just listen, okay?” Jimmy says, raising a hand to cut Leonard off when he opens his mouth.

Leonard sighs and shuts it. He’s fucking tired. He hasn’t exactly been sleeping well these past few days.

Jimmy looks tired too, the energy buzzing in him made up more of nerves than his normal boundless teenage energy.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I sprang that kiss on you. I mean, I’m not sorry we kissed but I’m sorry about the way I did it and, shit, the thing is I was waiting. I was going to wait and go to school in Augusta with you next year and…”

“So you could be an eighteen year old freshman and I could be a twenty-six year old med student? ‘Cause that would be so much better?” Leonard asks caustically.

“I’ll be a legal adult then and we can…”

“No, Jimmy. No,” Leonard repeats firmly. “We can’t.”

“We can, and don’t tell me that you only think of me as a brother because…”

“I do only think of you as…”

“You sure as hell didn’t kiss like you thought you were kissing…”

“You took me by surprise!”

“Doesn’t matter, you kissed me back, and…”

“You kiss like a goddamn prostitute! Anyone would have kissed you back!” It’s mean and Leonard knows it’s mean but of course Jimmy is a contrary little brat because he just smirks, suddenly cocky.

“I am a genius kisser and I’m even better at fucking.”

Leonard thinks maybe it says everything that he winces when Jimmy says the word ‘fucking’. “Kid, you’re seventeen years old. You can’t possibly…”

“Try me. Just, let’s…”

“Jimmy, goddammit, no!” Leonard roars, suddenly out of patience.

He watches Jimmy flinch back and then visibly start to regroup to try again.

He can’t give him the chance. “You willing to do that to my mom and dad?”

There’s another flinch. Jimmy cares about the good opinions of Eleanor and David McCoy. He thrives under their parental affection like a flower soaking up sunshine and spring showers.

“They’ll understand.” But for the first time there’s a hint of hesitancy.

“They won’t understand. Jimmy, you’re seventeen.”

“I know they’ll be disappointed in me but…”

“Jimmy, you’re seventeen. They won’t be disappointed in you. They’ll be disappointed in me. And rightfully goddamn so. Even if I wanted to, I…”

“Then wait for me.” There’s a thread of desperation side by side with determination like Jimmy’s just going to keep coming up with ideas until something sticks.

“What?”

“Wait for me, Len. Whatever age works for you. I’ll wait until then. We won’t do anything. I won’t try anything. Go ahead and fuck whoever you want in the meanwhile, but don’t get married. Don’t…please wait for me. Please.”

“Jimmy…” He needs to explain to the kid that he loves Jocelyn, that Jimmy’s crush will fade back into something fraternal, that this is all too complicated and it’s not what Leonard wants and…and…he looks into Jimmy’s eyes, so focused on him. They've always been focused on him. So used to it and when had he missed the shift in those eyes from brotherly adoration to this need and want that’s shining out of them now.

“I…I…ah goddammit, okay.” He hears the words come out of his mouth and he waits for panic to set in. When it doesn’t, Leonard realizes with a shaky breath that he means it. Oh, fuck, he really means it.

He never has been any good at saying no to Jimmy Kirk.

“O…okay?” Jimmy blinks, sounding more unsure than at any other point since he forced his way into Leonard’s apartment.

Leonard sighs and then scowls. “Okay.”

Jimmy blinks at him, still unsure, and then the grin appears. That damn infectious, blinding grin accompanied by joy-filled eyes and dammit, dammit, dammit, he’s doomed.

“So how long?”

Leonard knows exactly what Jimmy’s asking. “Twenty-one.”

Jimmy opens his mouth. Leonard has absolutely no doubt that it’s to argue.

He shakes his head. “No. No arguments on this one. You wait until you graduate from college. You date and…”

“I’ve already dated, Len. Hell, I dated the Bartlett triplets and their older brother and…”

“…you’ll enjoy the whole college experience and once you graduate, then we’ll see.”

He watches Jimmy ponder.

“What if I graduate early? I could totally graduate in three years, or maybe even two and…”

Leonard glowers. “Twenty. One. And you give your word. No more kissing. No attempts to speed things along. Your word.”

He watches Jimmy hesitate because while he’s scarily good at strategy and has proven ‘creative’ at bending rules every which way, he doesn’t break his word.

“My word.”

Something relaxes in Leonard at that because he’s bought time. A couple years, hell six months, and Jimmy will…

“After one more kiss.”

“Goddamm…”

“Hey! I think I’m being pretty damn reasonable, McCoy.” Jimmy’s chin is up at a stubborn angle. “You’re telling me I gotta wait four fucking years until I can have you, fine. But I think we both deserve a taste to get us through.”

“Jesus, fuck, fine. One goddamn kiss.”

“Your mama know you swear like that?”

“Shut up, brat.”

This time Jimmy looks nervous as hell, anticipation and determination warring in his eyes as he inches closer.

Leonard reaches out and runs his hand through Jimmy’s short hair, sun streaked and twenty different shades of blonde and brown. It’s soft and Jimmy’s skin is softer still as Leonard runs a thumb over the younger man’s cheekbone and Jimmy gasps at that, the soft exhalation of breath and there’s so much want in those eyes as they stare at him. Leonard feels like he’s standing on the edge of a cliff without a parachute and he should be stepping back because he’s never been the type to jump. Except with Jimmy…apparently he is.

When their lips meet this time it’s sweet and no less powerful, the kick of it jolting through Leonard’s system as Jimmy shifts his mouth and sweeps his tongue against Leonard’s, hands coming up to rest on Leonard’s chest, running over collarbone and chest muscles, thumbing over a nipple, leaving heat and want in the wake of every touch. It’s a low burn that feels ready to explode into an inferno and Leonard doesn’t want to let go. He doesn’t ever want to let go.

When he finally steps back, he staggers to collapse onto his old couch, trying to ignore the raging hard on. It doesn’t help one bit that Jimmy’s just watching him, eyes heavy lidded, looking like pure sex and invitation, his own bulge evident in his jeans.

Leonard closes his eyes and leans his head back. “Fuck. Leave Jimmy. Now.”

“You’re kidding.”

Leonard opens his eyes and glares just how serious he is. “You gave your word.”

They glare at each other and Leonard waits for Jimmy to start arguing again and, fuck, he’s not sure he can stand against him. But as much as he’ll stretch his word, Jimmy Kirk doesn’t break it. And finally with a low groan he stalks to the door, pausing just long enough for one last threat. “I gave my word I’ll wait and I won’t push. But you can put us out of our misery any damn time.”

The door slams.

Leonard closes his eyes, puts his palm against his dick and groans.

Four years is gonna kill him.


End file.
